Football

Tom Brady is having a great year. With 25 touchdowns and 2 interceptions it seems like he is a definite candidate for the NFL MVP. However, there is a lot more to Tom Brady’s season than meets the eye. With that in mind here are 4 reasons why he doesn’t deserve to be an NFL MVP candidate.

The most obvious of these is that he missed 4 games this season. That brings him to only 12 games started, that’s 75 percent of games. This is not the NBA or MLB where people play dozens and dozens of games, there are only 16 games in the season, and missing 25 percent of games is a whole lot.

During those games where Tom Brady wasn’t playing, the New England Patriots went 3-1 using backups Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brisette. An MVP makes a team that loses, win. He has to be able to elevate a good team to a great team. Can you image what would happen to the Green Bay Packers without Aaron Rodgers? Or the Atlanta Falcons without Matt Ryan? 1-3, or 0-4, that’s what would happen.

The Patriot’s schedule has been a cakewalk. They have the 2nd easiest strength of schedule in the league and through the 12 weeks Tom Brady has played, the Patriots have now lined up against only 3 playoff teams. In comparison Aaron Rodgers has played 8 games against playoff teams, Matt Ryan has played 4, and Dak Prescott has played 7. The MVP belongs to someone who has played well against good teams. Give him the Patriots schedule, and I’m sure even Tyrod Taylor looks good.

Two words. Bill Belichick. He has established himself as maybe the best coach of all time. Bill Belichick has made average player after average player look like a savant under his offense. Matt Cassel had an 89.4 quarterback rating with that offense. Jimmy Garoppolo looked like a Pro Bowl candidate. The most valuable player on that team isn’t Tom Brady by a long shot, it’s Bill Belichick.

Tom Brady has thrown 12.5 touchdowns to an interception. He has a 110.7 quarterback rating, and will most likely lead the Patriots to the Super Bowl. He’s a great player, but he doesn’t elevate his team, his team elevates him. Take Aaron Rodgers off the Packers or Matt Ryan off the Falcons and you’ll have offenses as pedestrian as New York City. Take Tom Brady off the Patriots, and they’ll still make the AFC championship.